Tips, tricks, and musings from a Canadian technophile

It can be tough to work on slides that have a lot of different objects and shapes. Illustrations can get very detailed, which can look fantastic but can make editing very tricky. Ever tried to select one object but only managed to repeatedly select every other object around it?

Good news: there's a tool to help you! It's called the Selection Pane, and it's one of my favourite things in Microsoft PowerPoint. Open up the Selection Pane by going to the 'Home' tab on the ribbon. On the very right-hand side is a group called 'Editing'. Click the 'Select' button, and then click 'Selection Pane...'.

Now you will see a panel on the right-hand side of your screen, which (quite conveniently) lists out every object sitting on the slide you currently have selected. Click on the name of the object to select it on the slide. Want to select multiple objects at once? Hold down the 'Ctrl' button on your keyboard as you click each item.

Don't like the vague and meaningless names they've each been assigned? I don't either. I'd rather not have to try and remember if that line on the right is Straight Connector 4116 or Straight Connector 4118. Double-click on the name of an object in the Selection Pane to edit the name. Press 'Enter' on your keyboard when you're done.

Hide an object by clicking on the eye icon next to its name. The eye will disappear from the box, and the object will become invisible. Click that box again to make it visible once more. You can also use the 'Show All' or 'Hide All' buttons at the bottom of the Selection Pane.

Try using the Selection Pane to help in organizing which order the objects are stacked. I personally prefer using this instead of repeatedly clicking 'Bring Forward' or 'Send Backward'. You can find re-order buttons right at the bottom of the Selection Pane.

Alright, that's all for today. More PowerPoint tips to come in future posts, I promise!